Hot Blooded: TVD 1x01
by Hannnnnnersx
Summary: ᴅᴇsɪʀᴇ, ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴇᴀᴋ, ᴇɴᴠʏ, ʀᴇᴅᴇᴍᴘᴛɪᴏɴ, ғᴇᴀʀ, ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴀɢᴇ, ʙᴇɢɪɴs ɴᴏᴡ... Pilot Episode Rewrite ; Reeling from the death of her parents, 17-year-old Elena becomes interested in a handsome new student named Stefan, who's hiding a dark secret.
1. σиє

**Hot Blooded** » **TVD** [ 1x01 ]

ᴅᴇsɪʀᴇ, ʜᴇᴀʀᴛʙʀᴇᴀᴋ, ᴇɴᴠʏ, ʀᴇᴅᴇᴍᴘᴛɪᴏɴ, ғᴇᴀʀ, ᴀɴᴅ ʀᴀɢᴇ, ʙᴇɢɪɴs ɴᴏᴡ...

**Pilot Episode Rewrite** » Four months after the car accident that killed their parents, Elena Gilbert and her younger brother, Jeremy, are still trying to move on with their lives. As the school year begins, Elena is intrigued by a handsome and mysterious new student named Stefan Salvatore, who came from another school, and the two are immediately drawn to one another, with Elena not realizing that Stefan is actually a century old vampire. When Stefan's older brother, Damon Salvatore, arrives in Mystic Falls, an old rivalry between the two is awakened that could be the ruin of Elena and the town.

.

.

It's late at night on a country road. Long. Winding. Lined with thick forest. A lone set of headlights appears down the road—a black SUV.

A young couple sits in the front seat. Darren has that cute-I'm-probably-gonna-die-soon look. Beside him is Brooke, pretty, smart-faced. Has that I'll-probably-live-longer-than-my-boyfriend look. Music plays.

Through the front windshield, headlights pierce darkness. "An hour drive to hear that crap, wasn't even a band; just a guy with a guitar," Darren complains. "An hour—each way."

"He wasn't that bad," Brooke insists, rolling her eyes.

"He sounded like James Blunt."

"What's wrong with that?"

"We already have a James Blunt. One's all we need."

Through the windshield a misty fog starts rolling by. "You owe me so much sex for this night," Darren continues. The fog grows thicker and thicker. It becomes difficult to see the road in front of them.

"What's with the fog?" Brooke asks.

"It'll clear...give it a sec."

"You could slow down."

There's nothing but white all around them. The road's almost completely gone from view. Then, all of a sudden...

The fog lifts. They can see again.

"Told ya."

Brooke screams. "Watch out!"

A man is standing in the middle of the road.

Darren hits the brakes. Not fast enough—they crash into the man. His body goes up and over the jeep, rolling off the top, hitting the ground behind them.

Darren yanks the wheel, sending the Jeep into a tailspin across the road. It comes to a screeching halt.

Everything goes silent. Darren turns to Brooke. "Are you okay?"

"We hit someone, oh god..." She's in full panic. Starts crying.

Darren reaches for his cell phone. Starts dialing. Opens the door. "Jesus. Shit. Stay here, okay?"

"Please, let him be all right."

Darren hops out of the car. Leaving Brooke shaking. She peers out the window, but she can't see anything. The headlights are pointed to the woods.

"Please, please, please..." She turns to look out her side window when suddenly, a face appears in the window. Brooke leaps out of her skin

It's Darren. "I can't get reception. Try your phone."

And he's gone.

.

.

Darren races across the country road, where the man lies. Still.

"Oh god..." Slowly, he approaches the man. Kneels down beside the body. It's not moving. Darren knows this isn't good. He finds his hand—lifts it. Feels for a pulse. "Please be alive."

He glimpses a ring on the dead man's finger. It's unusual. Antique. A lapis stone.

He peers down to the man's face. Unable to see him at all. It's pitch black.

He flips his cell phone around and hits the touch pad, it lights up his LCD screen. Uses it as a light when—_in the blink of an eye_—hands reach out, the man raises up, and Darren's head yanks back, neck exposed. In a flash, sharp, gleaming fangs rip into Darren's throat.

He's dead in an instant. No scream. No noise at all. A vicious, silent death.

.

.

Brooke gets out of the car with her cell, having no idea what's happened just yards away. She's having trouble getting reception as well. She walks around to the front of the car. Calls out. "Mine doesn't work either."

Her eyes search the darkness. There's no Darren. No man either for that matter. Brooke looks around.

"Darren?" she cries out to no avail.

She turns back to the car. Frightened. Terrified. There's a noise behind her. She turns. Just as...

Darren's body falls on the car's hood. From above. Out of nowhere. It lands with a resounding _THUD_. Sprawled across the hood—his neck a raw and bloody mess.

Brooke is paralyzed in horror. A figure emerges behind her. A man silhouetted in the headlights. His face shadowed.

She senses his presence. She spins around. No one's there. Because, now he's on the other side of her. How did he get there? Impossible.

She spins around again. He's gone again.

Brooke turns and begins to run. Down the center of the road. Screaming hysterically. Trying to put distance between her and whoever is out there...

She keeps running and running...directly into the fog.

Everything becomes blurry real fast. Brooke keeps moving, not looking back, disappearing further into the hazy mist.

Something tracks behind her, traveling lightning fast. It catches up with her.

Suddenly, Brooke's feet leave the ground as her entire body takes flight. Her scream echoes through the night as something much faster and stronger yanks her entire body out of sight. Then, her scream is cut short. A deadly silence.

Swirling fog fills the darkness.


	2. Тωσ

It's morning. Birds chirp. Sun shines down on a big family home. A veranda wraps around the front. All charm. No sense of last night's horror.

_Dear Diary...today will be hell._

Elena Gilbert faces herself in her bedroom mirror. A silent assessment. Fresh-faced, perfect features.

_But, I'm ready. I can deal. I have a plan. I will smile. It will be believable. Genuine. My smile will say, "I'm fine, thank you." "Yes, much better." "Time heals everything."_

Elena is now at her desk writing in her journal.

_They will see that Elena is alive and well._

Her room has the complete inventory of her life. Items of an overachiever; awards, certificates, ribbons, etc.

_And if I can convince them, then maybe, just maybe, I can believe it myself._

There are snapshots and framed photos. Friends in funny, happy poses, reflecting the life of a popular and well-adjusted girl. These are personal photos—they mean something.

Her parents, brother—obligatory family photo. Elena lingers on it for a moment. There's a story there.

.

.

The morning news is muted on a small TV in the kitchen. Photos of Darren and Brooke flash on screen. _Missing couple_.

Jenna Sommers stands at the fridge. Grad school smart. A little scattered in a brainy way. A thinker in sweats. Which works for her. It's sexy.

She opens the fridge door. Studies its contents. Jenna is not domestic. She never will be.

"Toast. I can make toast." She's talking to Elena who just walked in. Goes straight for the coffee pot. Pours a cup. Elena drinks it black.

"It's all about the coffee, Aunt Jenna."

Jenna nods, of course.

"Is there coffee?" Jeremy enters the kitchen. Cool look; has an original take on grunge punk, nothing extreme. Tinkers with the nail polish and eyeliner, but won't commit. A bit of a mess. Outcast cute.

"Your first day of school and I'm totally unprepared." Jenna grabs two power bars. Hands 'em out. Reaches for her purse, finds some cash. Elena declines. Jeremy takes it. "Lunch money. Anything else? A No.2 pencil? What am I missing?" She's trying to get it right.

"Don't you have a big presentation today?" Elena points out.

"I'm meeting with my thesis advisor at—" Jenna checks her watch, realizing. "Now. Crap."

"Go," Elena urges and Jenna disappears in a flash. She turns to her younger brother. "You good?"

"Don't start." Jeremy marches out the back door. Uninterested and annoyed.

Left alone in the kitchen, Elena sighs. Steeling herself for the day.

.

.

Mystic Falls is a small Virginia town. Quaint, picturesque. A place you'd like to raise a family. Southern in its hospitality, northern in its attitude.

A Prius makes its way past Main Street. Mom and Pop. A couple restaurants. A hardware store. A church.

Elena rides beside Bonnie. Light, bubbly, and adorable. A loyal friend with a big heart. She's in chatty Cathy mode.

"So Grams tells me how I'm psychic because we're descendants of the Celtic Druids; I know, right? I wasn't buying it either until I remembered my uncanny accuracy. I predicted Obama, I predicted David Cook, Heath Ledger, Britney's comeback and I still think Florida will break off and become little resort islands. I think there's something to it."

Bonnie glances over at Elena who is staring out the window, not listening. She's in another world.

"Did I tell you about the orgy? I had the football team over. Threw a blindfold on. I still don't know who took my virginity—ELENA! BACK IN THE CAR!"

Elena jumps when she hears Bonnie yell her name. She quickly snaps out of her daze. "I did it again, didn't I? I'm sorry, Bonnie. You were saying..."

"What? C'mon, you can do it..."

Elena thinks hard. "Something about being psychic."

Bonnie toots the horn. They both laugh.

"Okay, then, predict, what's in store for me? Give it up."

Bonnie is turning a corner. She holds one hand out, waving it like a magic wand. In complete goof mode. "I see puppies and daffodils and a naked Ryan Gosling..."

Suddenly, something _flies_ into the windshield. Bonnie jerks the steering wheel. The car goes skidding. She slams on the breaks.

"What was that? Oh god..." Bonnie turns to Elena. "Elena? Are you okay? I'm so sorry."

Elena sits frozen in the front seat. "I'm okay. It happens."

"No, I'm so sorry, it was like a bird or something. It came out of nowhere."

"It's okay. I can't let cars freak me out for the rest of my life." Elena shakes it off. Determined not to let it cloud her day.

Bonnie gets it. Appreciates it. "I predict this year is gonna be kick ass. And I predict all the sad and dark times are over. And you're going to be happier than happy. With some hot sex too."

Elena smiles. Touched by all Bonnie says. "That's all good. Just one thing. If you're psychic, how come you didn't predict the bird?"

Bonnie grins. Hits the gas and they're off.

The Prius takes off down the road. They pass a telephone pole, where an ominous black crow sits, perched at the top. Deadly still.

.

.

Mystic Falls High is a small town high school. Nothing special. Just real.

A mysterious guy moves across the parking lot. He passes through other arriving students. Slowly a few people start to turn, noticing this new arrival.

.

.

Bonnie and Elena move down the hall when Caroline Forbes approaches. Extremely pretty in a manufactured way. Hair, makeup, wardrobe, she's done to death. Bit of a queen bee persona. She sees Elena and immediately goes to her, embracing her, holding her tight. "Hi girls. Elena, my god, how are you? It's _so_ good to see you."

Elena's rehearsed for this. "Thanks, Caroline, I'm fine."

Caroline is genuine. In her own way, she truly cares. Elena busies herself with her locker.

"Have you seen Matt yet?"

Elena shakes her head. Bonnie rolls her eyes. "They broke up, Caroline."

"I know that. But they can still talk."

"He was at his Dad's all summer," Elena finally answers.

"So what's the status? Friends, cordial, awkward at best?"

Elena shrugs just as Matt comes waltzing around the corner. Everybody's All-American. Handsome jock. Even tempered, gentle eyes. He sees the three girls. "Hey, guys..." His eyes go straight to Elena.

She smiles. Friendly. "Hi, Matt."

He gives her an awkward nod and takes off. "Good to see you. Later."

Caroline watches him go. "In case you missed it, you two are awkward at best."

She heads off. Bonnie gives Elena a supportive smile. Hang in there, girl. Then, she takes off with Caroline. Elena turns back to her locker—doing exactly that.

.

.

The mysterious new guy walks down another hall, turning into the administration office. Curious students catch a half-glimpse of him. Chiseled profile. Sunglasses.

.

.

The football field is empty. The bleachers are vacant.

Behind the bleachers, near the storage garage, hidden by dumpsters is The Pit. As in a stoner's pit stop. Where you come to partake in all things illegal. Every small town school has one. Jeremy hangs with some stoners.

"Don't take more than 2 in a 6 hour window," he warns.

Vicki stares at two pills in her hand. Sexy hot. A little on the trashy side. She's very desirable And she knows it. Depends on it—in that sad way. She takes two and pops them in her mouth and swallows. "What are they?"

"You might wanna reverse the order next time, ask first, swallow second; Alprazolam, a mellow and breezy descendant of the benzodiazepine family."

"What happens if I take more than two?"

"You'll shave your head and lip sync for the rest of your life."

Someone passes Jeremy a lit joint. He takes a toke. Turns back to Vicki just as Tyler Stratton saunters up. Athletic, attractive, arrogant. He goes straight for Vicki. "I knew I'd find you here, holding court."

Vicki's flippant. "With my fellow crack heads."

Tyler notices Jeremy—sees the joint, takes it from him. "Hey, Pete Wentz called. He wants his eyeliner back."

Jeremy doesn't miss a beat. "Pete Wentz, huh? How old school TRL of you. Carson Daly fan?"

Tyler starts to lunge. Vicki pulls him back. "Be nice. That's Elena's little brother."

"I know who he is, I'll still kick his ass." He does a fake-out lunge. It makes Jeremy jump. Tyler laughs. So does Vicki. That burns.

Tyler takes a big toke of the joint. Then, leans over and kisses Vicki—shotguns his toke. It's sexy.

And it drives Jeremy mad. Deflated, he turns back to the stoners, takes another hit. Bummin' hard.

.

.

The new guy interacts with the secretary. Caroline passes by in the hallway, then stops. "Who's this?"

She and Bonnie peer through the window. "I can only see his back," Bonnie responds.

"It's a hot back."

Meanwhile, the secretary looks up at him. "Stefan, your records are incomplete."

"Are they?"

"You're missing immunization records, transcripts, parental contact information..."

Through the window, the girls continue to watch. "There's style there," Caroline points out. "Check out his boots. California? New York?"

Bonnie closes her eyes—calling on her psychic abilities. "I'm sensing Seattle. And he plays a guitar."

Caroline beckons, "Turn around, turn, turn..."

Inside the office, the secretary is shaking her head. "We really prefer a parent to come in and meet with us in person. And we insist on transcripts."

Stefan slowly lowers his sunglasses. The secretary looks up at him, suddenly transfixed. He speaks in a low, soft tone. "Please look again. I'm sure everything you need is there."

The secretary looks back down, scattered. Slightly frazzled. "Well, you're right. So it is."

Meanwhile, Bonnie is crossing her fingers. "No fugly, no fugly..."

Slowly, he turns. Bonnie and Caroline react. _Damn_. It's definitely a thumbs up.

Down the hall, Elena is at her locker. She sees Jeremy walk by with his stoner friends. He's shuffling his feet, swaying some, definitely stoned. He disappears into the Men's Room.

A flash of anger from Elena. She slams her locker shut and charges off.

.

.

Jeremy is at the sink, putting drops of Visine in his eyes when Elena storms into the bathroom. Two guys at the urinals complain. "Whoa, pants down, chick," Peeing Guy grumbles.

Elena ignores them. She storms up to Jeremy and spins him around, pushing him against the sink. She grabs his hands and sniffs them. She sniffs his face. Yes, he reeks of pot.

A look into his eyes reveal they're bloodshot. Reefer red. Jeremy jerks away. Embarrassed in front of the other guys.

"Great. First day of school. And you're stoned."

"No, I'm not."

Elena starts digging through his coat pockets, trying to find his stash. He jerks away, but she's fast and tough. She has her hands inside his coat jacket, feeling his pockets. "Where is it? Is it on you?"

"You need to chill yourself."

"_'Chill yourself.' Oooh. Stoner talk. Dude, you're so cool._" She's searching his back pants pockets now.

A couple of guys continue to watch, laughing—"Cavity search", "I'm next."

"There's none on me. Stop it." Jeremy pushes her away.

But Elena doesn't back down. She stands there—determined. "No, I'm gonna be all over your ass every single time, so before you take that next bong hit think to yourself, is it worth it? Is it worth the hell hath no fury of my crazy sister? Because I will be there to ruin your buzz every time. Got it?"

Pause. Jeremy says nothing. He's stoned. Embarrassed.

Elena backs off a little. Did she go too far? Her anger gives way to hurt. She has nothing but love and concern for her brother. "I know who you are and it's not this person. Don't be this person."

Jeremy's eyes soften. A brief flash of vulnerability. That of a frightened boy. But it doesn't last. He jerks away. "I don't need this."

He takes off, defiant, blasting out the door. Elena watches him go. Her face pained.

.

.

Stefan walks out the office. Bonnie and Caroline follow him. Other students turn and glance at the new kid. He moves to a door. Just as he approaches it, it opens, revealing...

Elena. She stops in her tracks when she sees Stefan. Loses her breath. He's a gloriously, amazingly, epic-ly beautiful young man. Elegant and ageless, in a hanging on the wall of the Louvre kind of way.

He bumps into her. Steps back. "Pardon me." He removes his sunglasses, revealing his gorgeous eyes. Looks at the door. Checking that it's the Men's Room.

Elena is mesmerized in the moment by his presence. He looks back to her.

"Is this the Men's Room?"

"Yes, I was...long story."

They both move at the same time, bumping again. She goes the other way, when he does too, they almost bump again. He stops and allows her to pass. She smiles, embarrassed.

Elena starts off, but she can't help but turn back. The door slowly closes. But not before she locks eyes with him again.

Who _was_ that guy?

.

.

Elena is in class. The teacher, Mr. Tanner drones on. History—Civil War. Ugh. "Since our own home state of Virginia was a border state during the war, it played a significant role in the outcome..."

Elena steals a glance to her right. Stefan is several desks away. He looks up, meeting her gaze. She quickly averts her eyes. When she dares to look up a moment later, he's looking at her again.

Two desks back, Bonnie stealthily sends a text. Elena's purse vibrates. She slides out her phone. _HAWT-E. Staring U_.

She looks back to Bonnie and they share a smile. Then, she glances right and sees Matt staring at her. He looks away. She looks at Bonnie—who shrugs.

.

.

Elena, Caroline and Bonnie approach the football field. They carry practice pom poms. "His name is Stefan Salvatore," Caroline prattles on. "He lives with his great-uncle in the old Salvatore Boarding House. He hasn't lived here since he was a kid. Military family. They traveled a lot. He's a Gemini and has a scratched retina and that's why he wears the shades inside."

Bonnie can't believe it. "You got all that in one day?"

"I got all that in between bells after third period. So, bagsies. He's all mine. I saw him first."

"I say we both throw ourselves at him and whoever he picks gets him."

"That's the same as saying he's mine."

"Ouch. Bitch."

Elena looks to the field. Sees the cheerleaders warming up. The football team running drills. She pauses for a moment, taking it all in. "You know what, guys? I'm gonna skip out."

"What do you mean? It's Freshman tryouts," Caroline protests.

"It's better than IDOL," Bonnie adds.

"You guys enjoy. I'll catch up with you later." Elena throws them a smile and takes off.

"You can't just..."

"Let it go." Bonnie motions to Caroline. _Don't make a big deal._

_._

_._

It's late afternoon in a sprawling, ornate cemetery filled with enormous mausoleums, and rows and rows of well-tended tombstones. This town is rich in history, and its dead are revered.

_Dear Diary. I made it. I got through the day in one piece._

Elena is leaning up against a tombstone, writing. The pair of tombstones are labeled Grayson Gilbert and Miranda Sommers Gilbert. Loving Parents.

_Okay, so I wasn't feeling the pom poms. But I think that could be a good thing..._

Someone is watching Elena. Lurking. She looks up, noticing there's a crow perched on her mother's tombstone. Large, black, still. It stares at her, like it knows her.

"Okay...hi, bird."

It doesn't move. Just watches her. Unblinking.

"Not creepy or anything. Big black crow in a cemetery."

A slow, thick fog creeps in, settling in around Elena. She notices it. Weird. She stands up.

"And cue the fog. _Jesus_."

The crow still stares. Annoyed, she waves one hand at it.

"Shoo...or whatever." It doesn't move. She looks at it. Then makes a sudden lunge for it. Startled, the crow flies away. "That's what I thought."

She turns around and gasps —the crow is on the tombstone behind her. Its eyes burning into her. Her head whips in the direction she saw it fly and then back to the tombstone.

"How did —" Freaked out, she bends over to pick up her bag, but the crow suddenly takes flight again, fluttering its enormous wings. Elena holds back a scream. "Screw you."

She briskly walks away. The fog is getting thicker...murkier. And there's the crow again, perched in a low tree.

She picks up her pace, almost running. The fog swirling around her. She loses her bearings, trips over a vine...

She goes to the ground. Shit. She rights herself, wincing. Scruffed her leg. She looks back and sees...

The figure of a man through the fog. What the...?

That's it. Elena hauls ass. She takes off in the opposite direction, running, racing through the cemetery when she runs smack into Stefan. Elena screams.

"Are you okay?"

Elena scrambles back, freaked. "Were you _following_ me?" Confused, she looks behind her. Where the figure was.

"No. I mean, yes, sort of. I saw you fall."

Elena's suspicious. "You like to lurk in graveyards?"

"I was visiting...I have family here."

She sags. Embarrassed. Suddenly nervous in his presence. "Oh wow. Tactless, I'm sorry. I'm not thinking clearly, it's the fog, made me foggy and there was this bird and it was all very Hitchcock there for a second —it was Hitchcock, right, the bird movie?" She pauses for a moment, stopping herself. "I'm Elena."

Stefan smiles at her nervousness. "I'm Stefan."

"I know."

He reaches over and brushes her hair to the side. Pulls a small leaf from it.

Elena almost trembles. "Thank you..." There's something electric in this moment. As he pulls his hand away, she notices a ring on his hand. An antique. With a lapis stone at its center. "Nice ring."

"Family ring. I know it's weird."

"It's just, there are rings and then there are _rings_."

Stefan stops suddenly, head tilting. As if smelling the air. "Did you hurt yourself?"

Elena looks down and sees her pants are torn. She leans down and lifts her pant's leg to reveal blood coming for a small cut. Stefan's eyes fixate on it.

"Oh, yeah, look at that." She inspects it. Blood drips down her ankle.

Stefan can't tear his eyes away. His breath gets ragged. "Get away."

Elena looks up. "What —"

He spins away from her, hiding his face. Elena doesn't see, but she glimpses something—a vein pulsating? Something in his eyes? It's so fast, she's not quite sure.

"I SAID GO," Stefan yells fiercely.

Stunned and confused, Elena retreats a few steps. But then stops and looks back. Stefan is gone.


End file.
